Cohere, the Canadian generative AI firm founded by ex-Google researchers, has raised $500 million in a funding round that propels its valuation to $6.8 billion. The round was led by Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital, with strong participation from AMD Ventures, NVIDIA, PSP Investments, and Salesforce Ventures. This financing underlines Cohere’s growing prominence in enterprise AI and deepens its runway for product expansion.
Since early 2025, Cohere’s annual recurring revenue has doubled to $100 million, a marked acceleration in its commercial trajectory. The company now aims to hit $200 million in ARR by year-end, reflecting strong enterprise demand for its secure, customizable AI solutions.
Cohere positions itself as a trusted alternative to consumer-facing AI leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic. Instead of chasing broad, behind-the-scenes general purpose models, Cohere trains systems using internal client data, and often deploys models on premises. This approach caters to regulated sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government—a strategy that resonates with institutions sensitive to data privacy and compliance.
In one notable launch, Cohere introduced North, a ChatGPT-style agent platform built specifically to automate office tasks like summarizing documents. Early deployments include the Royal Bank of Canada, LG, Oracle, Dell, and Fujitsu.
Two leadership appointments underscore the company’s strategic maturity. Joelle Pineau, former head of AI research at Meta, has joined as Chief AI Officer. Francois Chadwick, an ex-Uber finance executive, is now CFO. These hires signal Cohere’s intent to scale responsibly while strong-arming its execution capacity.
Cohere’s Canadian roots also highlight a broader effort to build an AI hub outside Silicon Valley. CEO Aidan Gomez has pointed to the importance of sovereignty and trust, observing that reliance on U.S.-based tech majors raises concerns among global enterprises—concerns his company intends to address.
Cohere’s rise offers a compelling blueprint. The firm has built tangible revenue, secured marquee customers, and preserved capital efficiency while serving high-stickiness enterprise clients. Its security-first deployment model could serve as a hedge against the overheating valuations—and soaring costs—seen at broader AI rivals. As consumer AI hype peaks, Cohere’s steady, predictable income growth may stand out.
